January 8, 2019 - January 14, 2019
The weather has been sunny and warm (70’s) with a cool breeze. Bob and I have been riding our bikes to run errands and visit our favorite restaurants for lunch. No rain is expected until Saturday, but it will cool down towards the end of the week. Regular chores are much more pleasant when the sun is shining brightly.
My big problem this week is trying to brush and groom the cats. They both have hair mats under their forward legs (what I would call their armpits). Jack is easy to catch, but quickly becomes intolerant of grooming even if I am being as gentle as possible, and he wiggles away. Lola is almost impossible to catch when she sees the brush. Bob researched this issue and came up with the idea of gently brushing her repeatedly and giving her treats if she tolerates the brushing, but this has not been very successful. I have to admit that I become impatient with this technique quickly. I have never been able to brush her for even a minute before she bolts. I’ll keep trying and hopefully find some success.
At Christmas Bob and I decided to spruce up the main salon with some new pillows. Some of our old pillows were showing wear and were a bit boring. We found the ones we liked on various internet sites and ordered them. The pillow covers and pillow inserts all arrived at different times. The final two got here on 1/9 traveling all the way from Estonia.
 |
| The blue fluffy pillow in the back is the new one. We got the fish pillow in the Bahamas and I made the gold one to match our curtains. |
 |
My favorite is the water color style flower pillow.
|
 |
| The red pillow was ordered through Etsy and came to us from Latvia. |
 |
| Since we are spending the winter in Charleston we thought the map pillow would be a nice reminder of the area. |
We are finding that condensation is becoming a major problem on the boat because of the temperature deferential between inside and outside. The dampness caused by condensation can lead to mold. We have made several changes to lessen this problem (going to a warmer spot in the winter will eliminate the problem next year). We purchased a small dehumidifier which collects an amazing amount of water each day. I regularly clean out our storage cupboards with white vinegar to kill mold and prevent its regrowth, and I leave the cupboard doors open to allow more air circulation. One spot that we were not sure what to do to eliminate the moisture was under our mattress. We bought a product specifically designed to be used under mattresses in small spaces and installed it on Thursday. Let’s hope it works!
 |
| Here is the product we installed under our mattress. The top is cloth and the bottom is a series of stiff plastic strings curled around each other randomly. |
 |
| Even though I cleaned the mattress and the platform with white vinegar the mold stains remain. I’ll be leaving for El Paso, TX on Monday to spend some time with my niece, Amy, and her family. Amy was involved in a car accident in which she broke both legs and her arm and our family is rallying around her to help her and her family, which includes three small children, while she is recovering. It will be good to see her, but I wish it was under better circumstances. |
Thanks for reading my blog.
